Spain Country Information 2026: Borders, Currency, Holidays

Spain at a glance for drivers

Spain covers 505,990 km² of mainland, the Balearic and Canary Islands plus the African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. The road network totals about 165,000 km, of which approximately 17,000 km are motorway-class (autopista or autovía). The country is divided into 17 autonomous communities and two autonomous cities; some of these have their own road numbering and language conventions that catch out foreign drivers, especially Catalan in Catalonia and Basque in the Basque Country.

For a visitor, the essentials are: Euro currency, Schengen (no passport check at the French or Portuguese border for EU/Schengen citizens), driving on the right, 12-point licence system, and the same European emergency number 112 as the rest of the EU.

Currency, payment and ATMs

Spain uses the Euro (EUR, €) everywhere including the Canary Islands and the enclaves. Notes 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 (500 is being withdrawn but still legal tender). Coins 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents and 1, 2 euro.

Card acceptance:

• Visa, Mastercard: universal
• Maestro: universal
• American Express: most hotels, restaurants, autopista tolls; smaller shops may refuse
• Contactless under €50: no PIN needed
• Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay: very common

ATMs (cajeros automáticos) are at every supermarket, bank and most fuel stations. Foreign-card withdrawal fee is typically €3-5 per transaction at non-network ATMs; use a card with free foreign withdrawals (Revolut, N26, Wise, Curve) to avoid this.

Tipping: not customary at the level of US/UK. Round up the bill at a casual restaurant; 5-10% for a notably good sit-down meal. Taxis: round up. No tipping at fuel stations.

Language and signs

Spanish (castellano) is the national language. Six autonomous communities have a co-official regional language and road signs may be bilingual or in the regional language only:

International road signs follow the Vienna Convention and are identical to the rest of Europe. See our Spain road signs guide for the symbols that differ in practice.

Time zones

Mainland Spain and Balearic Islands use Central European Time (CET, UTC+1) with summer-time shift to CEST (UTC+2) on the last Sunday of March until the last Sunday of October. This is the same as France and Germany.

Canary Islands use Western European Time (WET, UTC+0), one hour behind the mainland (same as Portugal and UK). All scheduled times on Canary ferries and flights are in WET; check carefully when transferring.

Note: Spain’s geographic position would justify GMT (it sits roughly on the Greenwich meridian) but Franco aligned Spain with Berlin in 1940. The shift is visible in daily routines: noon is closer to 13:00 solar, sunset is late and dinner is at 21:00-22:30 in summer.

Border crossings

Spain shares land borders with France (six crossings), Portugal (eight crossings), Andorra (two), and the British overseas territory of Gibraltar (one). All borders to EU/Schengen states have no passport check for EU/EEA/Swiss/UK citizens; some have random customs spot checks for cash, drugs, weapons and protected species.

France (Schengen, no passport check)

Portugal (Schengen, no passport check)

Andorra (non-EU, customs control)

Andorra is outside the EU and EU customs union. Buying fuel, alcohol or tobacco in Andorra and re-entering Spain triggers a customs allowance (typically 50 cigarettes, 1L spirits, 50g perfume per adult). Spanish customs (Aduana) check at La Seu and the airport.

Gibraltar (UK overseas, passport check)

The land border at La Línea de la Concepción has a Spanish passport check on entry to Gibraltar (rare delays for cars), and a UK control on the Gibraltar side. Currency in Gibraltar is the Gibraltar pound (Sterling parity); Euros accepted at most shops but with poor exchange rate. Driving on the right in Gibraltar.

Emergency numbers

The single European emergency number 112 works everywhere in Spain (operator speaks Spanish, English and sometimes the regional language). Specialised numbers:

See our Spain emergency numbers guide.

Health and EHIC/GHIC

EU/EEA visitors with the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) get free or reduced-cost care at public Spanish hospitals (sanidad pública). UK visitors should carry the GHIC (free replacement for the EHIC after Brexit). The card is accepted at any centro de salud, hospital comarcal or hospital universitario.

Private hospitals (clínicas) do not accept EHIC; payment up front. Travel insurance with a private-hospital benefit is strongly recommended, particularly for ski trips in the Pyrenees and Sierra Nevada where evacuation costs are high.

Pharmacies (farmacias, marked with a green cross) are everywhere and sell over-the-counter remedies. Out-of-hours rotation (farmacia de guardia) is posted on the door of every closed pharmacy and on city websites.

Fuel stations

About 12,000 fuel stations in Spain (gasolineras or estaciones de servicio). Brands: Repsol, Cepsa, Galp, BP, Shell, Total, plus low-cost Plenoil, Petropress, BonArea, and hypermarket-attached Carrefour, Alcampo, Eroski, Mercadona.

Opening hours:

• Standard urban station: 06:00-22:00
• Hypermarket-attached: shop hours, typically 09:30-21:30, closed Sunday
• Motorway (AP and A): 24/7 with at least one operating per 100 km
• Self-service automatic (Plenoil, Petropress style): 24/7, often unattended, foreign cards accepted

All Spanish fuel stations are required by law to publish prices to the Geoportal de Gasolineras, run by the Ministry of Industry. See our Spain fuel prices guide for the live data widget and cheapest-near-you tools.

Motorways, tolls and electronic tags

About 2,000 km of Spanish motorways are still tolled (AP routes), down from over 3,000 km in 2010 as concessions have expired and the routes converted to free autovías. In 2026 the longest remaining toll routes are AP-9 Vigo-Coruña, AP-66 Léon-Oviedo (Huerna), and AP-68 Bilbao-Zaragoza (concession expires November 2026 and reverts to free).

Payment at the toll plaza: cash, card, or the Via-T electronic tag (interoperable with French Liber-T, Portuguese Via Verde and Italian Telepass through the EETS standard). Foreign drivers can rent a tag short-term from Bipandgo, Emovis Tag or directly from the Via-T website.

See our Spain toll roads guide for the full list of routes and 2026 prices.

Camper and motorhome essentials

Spain is one of the friendliest European countries for motorhomes, with extensive infrastructure of free or low-cost service areas (áreas de autocaravanas) along all major routes and at most coastal villages.

Practical rules:

• Free overnight parking in ordinary public spaces is allowed if you do not deploy levellers, awnings, chairs or grey-water hose. This is “estacionar” (parking) not “acampar” (camping).
• Free overnight at dedicated áreas: most towns have 4-20 free spots with fresh-water and grey-water service. Find via Park4Night, Campercontact or CaravaningGuiao.
• Paid camping: full-service campsite. Categories 1-3 stars. Standard €20-40 per night.
• Wild camping outside designated areas: prohibited in protected natural parks and on most beaches; enforced with €100-500 fines especially in Catalonia and the Balearics.
• LPG (Autogas): about 700 LPG stations in Spain. €0.95-1.05 per litre. Filter by “Autogas” in the Geoportal Gasolineras.

For caravans towed behind a car: speed limit drops to 90 km/h on motorway (not 120). Most motorway service areas accept caravans; some have dedicated long-vehicle parking.

Ferries and inter-island connections

Balearic Islands

Mainland to Mallorca / Menorca / Ibiza / Formentera, by Baleària and Trasmediterránea:

• Barcelona to Palma: 7-8 hours overnight; daily
• Valencia to Palma: 8 hours overnight; daily summer
• Denia to Ibiza: 4-5 hours; daily summer
• Barcelona to Menorca (Maó): 9 hours overnight; daily summer
• Inter-island: Palma to Ibiza 4 hours; Ibiza to Formentera 30 minutes

Cars from €200 (low season) to €400 (August) return. Book ahead for August.

Canary Islands

Cadiz to Tenerife / Las Palmas, by Naviera Armas:

• Cadiz to Las Palmas: 30-32 hours; once a week
• Cadiz to Tenerife: 36-40 hours; once a week
• Inter-island ferries (Naviera Armas, Fred Olsen, Lineas Romero): hourly between major islands

Cars from €700 (low season) to €1,200 (August). Most car-touring visitors fly and rent locally instead.

Morocco

Spain has the cheapest and shortest Europe-Africa ferry crossings:

• Algeciras to Tanger Med: 1.5 hours, every 90 minutes, €200-300 return with car
• Tarifa to Tanger Ville: 1 hour, several daily, €250 return with car
• Almería to Nador: 6-8 hours overnight, €300-450 with car
• Málaga to Melilla: 8 hours overnight (still Spanish territory)

Passport, V5 vehicle registration and proof of insurance valid for Morocco are required. Most EU insurances do not cover Morocco; buy local cover at the port (about €30 per week).

Public holidays affecting traffic

Major Spanish public holidays that produce traffic peaks:

Plus regional days: Cataluña 11 September (Diada), Andalucía 28 February, Basque Country 25 October, Galicia 17 May. Madrid 2 May.

The DGT publishes the annual operación calendar; weeks marked red are when long-distance motorway capacity is exceeded.

Driving from neighbouring countries

From France

Main entry through La Jonquera / AP-7. From Paris: 1,000 km via A-10 to Bordeaux then A-63/AP-8 along the Atlantic, or A-71/A-75 through Massif Central to Barcelona. Alternative: Hendaye crossing at Pyrenees Atlantic end, useful for north-west Spain (San Sebastián, Bilbao, Santander).

From Portugal

A-5 Lisbon to Madrid via Caya / Badajoz (650 km), then A-4 or A-3 onward. Or A-25 Coimbra-Vilar Formoso-Salamanca-Madrid.

From Italy (via France)

The full overland route Rome-Madrid is 2,000 km, 22 hours of driving; usually broken at Aix-en-Provence or Montpellier. Ferry option: Civitavecchia-Barcelona (Grimaldi, 20 hours).

From UK

After Brexit, UK driving licence valid as visitor for 6 months. Route: ferry Dover-Calais or LeShuttle Folkestone-Coquelles, then 1,500 km south through France. Alternative: Bilbao or Santander ferry from Plymouth or Portsmouth (Brittany Ferries), 24-36 hours, expensive but skip the entire French leg.

From Germany and Netherlands

1,500-2,000 km, 18-22 hours driving via France. Cheapest fuel: top up in Luxembourg or in the French Massif Central. Two main routes: via Strasbourg-Lyon-Montpellier-Perpignan, or via Belgium-Paris-Bordeaux-Hendaye.

Communications

Mobile coverage is excellent in cities and along motorways, weaker in inland rural areas and the central meseta. The four operators are Movistar (best rural coverage), Vodafone, Orange and the new MásMóvil/Yoigo merger.

For visitors:

• EU/EEA roaming: included in your home EU plan at no extra charge (“Roam Like Home”)
• UK roaming: limited included data on some UK plans, otherwise €10-15 per day
• Non-EU visitors: buy a Spanish prepaid SIM at any Movistar or Vodafone shop (passport needed), €10-15 for 5-15 GB
• eSIM: Holafly, Airalo, Orange Holiday have Spain or Europe-wide eSIMs from €15

Calls within Spain are free on most prepaid plans. International calls best via WhatsApp/FaceTime over data.

Practical tips for first-time Spanish road-trippers

• Refuel before 21:00 in rural areas; many stations close for the night and your nav may not show the 24/7 self-service alternative.
• Avoid the AP-7 Mediterranean coast on Friday afternoon and Sunday evening in July and August. Plan your transfer for weekdays or for the early-morning hours.
• Park in monitored parking (parking vigilado) in tourist towns and at the beach; break-ins on French and German plates are a known problem in some coastal areas.
• Eat at Spanish times if you want a real meal: lunch 14:00-16:00, dinner 21:00-23:00. Outside these windows tapas bars are the only option.
• Pre-book ferries and August accommodation: walk-up is impossible in high season.
• Carry a paper map of the toll routes: your nav may quietly switch you to the AP and you find out at the booth. Or use a free-roads option in Google Maps / Waze.